When we think of ups and downs, we think of roller coasters and.. Life. The periodic ups and downs is probably one of the constants of life and it is true that what goes up must come down, and vice versa. We will all have smooth rides and rough patches, albeit at varying lengths for different people throughout their lifetimes. These highs and lows can occur at any aspect of life, be it in areas of financial, emotional, psychological or otherwise.

To a lesser extent, I think these peaks and rock bottoms occur on a daily basis as well, where our emotions can fluctuate in great degrees (whether due to a conscious reason or not). We can be happy in the morning, uptight in the afternoon, and probably end the day on a high at night. With this came the theory and study of a base level of happiness for individuals, where one with a higher base level experience more satisfaction and joy in life without external stimulus or reason. It is something inherited and at genetic level, and hardly within control. It is like our default mood, where some can be perpetually positive while others sulk all the time.

What I’m trying to drive across today really is that we need to tide through the lows and seek to bounce back to the highs. We inevitably get sad or discontented, but it is important that we do damage management and let allow our emotional state and state of mind to affect our decisions or harm our relationships with others. It is crucial that we take a step back when things are tough and not buckle in the face of emotional challenges.

Find your friends, seek your happiness pill (i don’t mean drugs; I mean the person or thing that lift your spirits), do the things that make you happy, go exercise, listen to your favourite Beatles or Queen song, have an ice cream.. Yank yourself out of the depressive state and things will look up sooner than you expect. Positivity attracts good things, and the reverse is true for negativity.

Remember, chin up when things get tough.. It’s not that you’ll drown a little slower, it’s that you’ll be out of the water soon enough if you can survive the initial onslaught.

Everyone knows a cynic or a skeptic in their life, no doubt. This person doubts, distrusts and believes not in the good things that come along or happen; they are unaffected by whatever goodness that may spawn from small or big things, and they would rather disregard than embrace. It is as though they believe not even in life itself, like as though everything is too good to be true and they have a stubborn refusal to accept anything that is worthy or true.

On the flipside, you may say a cynical or skeptical attitude towards life in general is like a safeguard, a shield or a wall in which these people choose to hide behind; they probably fear the possible disappointment more than they enjoy the likely happiness that waits in line for them. It is perhaps something that they have developed over the many years and times of failure, setback and sorrow, so much so that they lose their belief in things working out for the good. They would rather be protected by a facade or delusion that nothing good would ever be heading their way, and they harden themselves to stay safe from anymore possible injuries that may wound them once too deep again.

It is true that no one likes a cynic or a skeptic for his pessimistic outlook and negativity, simply because they have not gone through what that person might have experienced before. No one can stand to a cynical or skeptical person’s comment on a joyous matter and everyone will regard that person as a party spoiler or deliberate wet blanket.

Truth is, no one was born to be negative and pessimistic. It is from the many unpleasant encounters and stumbling blocks that a distrusting and doubting character is cut and sliced out. No one would want to deliberately avoid and condemn good things and it already is beyond their control that they have become such detestable people.

The next time you come across a character like that, ask him about his story and past experiences and what comes out of that supposedly disdainful voice may shock you. If that does not work, you can simply look into those pair of eyes and through them, you may witness a dim shade of sorrow and misery.

I dedicate this post to that person who stands in some corner in your life.